Tablet Studios

Shtisel was a world wide phenomenon, and after the success of the original, co-creator Yehonatan Indursky is back with a new story, Kugel, focusing on Libbi and her dad Nuchem Shtisel during their days in Antwerp.  Hadas Yaron, who stars as Libbi, joins us to talk about the difference between Shtisel and Kugel, and what makes them such compelling Jewish television. We also, of course, discuss the...

Like most Jews, the news of the murder of the Bibas children not only saddened us, but it also made us ANGRY. How do we deal with our own thoughts about the event, and the greater world’s response as well? Dara Horn, a prolific author known for her book People Love Dead Jews (and the podcast Adventures with Dead Jews) as well as her work fighting antisemitism, joins us to deal with our anger and p...

One of American Jewry’s leading theologians and thinkers, Rabbi Irving “Yitz” Greenberg has spent decades engaging—and enraging—orthodoxy by suggesting it was time for religious Jews to examine some of their closest-held beliefs, including on such controversial issues like gay marriage or female members of the clergy. He joins Liel to discuss his new book, The Triumph of Life: A Narrative Theology...

AJ Edelman is the first Orthodox Jew to compete in the Winter Olympics and serves as the pilot of the Israeli bobsled team. He joins us to make the case for Jews in sports, recounts his unconventional path to “sliding sport” acclaim (and the setbacks he’s faced), and talks about what it’s meant for him to represent Israel on an international stage.   If you want to sponsor AJ and his team, get in...

Jennifer Sey was a national gymnastics champion who then won awards for exposing the abuse many female gymnasts suffered at the hands of their male coaches. She was also a celebrated executive with fashion giant Levi Strauss before being canceled for speaking her mind. Now, she’s the founder and CEO of XX-XY Athletics, a new brand committed to protecting women in sports from males unduly entering...

In today’s hyper-paced, screen-driven world, making—and keeping—new friends has become incredibly challenging. Same goes for nurturing long-lasting friendships. So, what’s a Jew to do? Journalist, author, and unofficial friendship correspondent Anna Goldfarb joins us to talk about modern friendship, a topic she delves into in her book, Modern Friendship: How to Nurture Our Most Valued Connections....

Welcoming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington, D.C., President Donald Trump has repeatedly made a bombshell proposal: Empty Gaza of its 1.8 million Palestinian residents, resettling them elsewhere in the Arab world and rebuilding the devastated strip. Tony Badran, Tablet Magazine’s news editor, joins Liel to explain why Trump’s plan is deeply generous, why so many of Washington...

Ben M. Freeman’s previous two books, 2021’s Jewish Pride: Rebuilding a People and 2022’s Reclaiming Our Story: The Pursuit of Jewish Pride were powerful arguments for rejecting Jew-hate, both internal and external. His latest book, The Jews: An Indigenous People, coming out Feb. 27, is the first scholarly book to tackle the topic of the Jewish people’s indigenous ties to the land of Israel. We dis...

Not long ago, a prominent Silicon Valley technologist told anyone who would listen that he believed he would never die because Artificial Intelligence was basically a God-like machine that could override all human frailties, including aging. This idea, says author and classicist Spencer Klavan, isn’t new: the history of science is in large part the story of trying to take the Creator out of the pi...

Lisa Edelstein has always been a woman of many hats, from 80’s “It” girl, to acting in shows like House, and painting.  She joins us to talk about her latest exhibition, “Dance Me to the End of the World,” and how the paintings are so …. Jewish. We also talk about how her Judaism has affected the rest of her career, and how 10/7 impacted her work and relationships.  Hosted by Courtney Hazlett, Rab...

Elon Musk recently reignited discussion of a decade-old child sex scandal in England, in which more than 1,000 girls were groomed and raped by gangs largely composed of men of Pakistani descent. The scandal was mismanaged by the authorities, and British journalist Melanie Phillips joins us to share her take on why this is. She discusses how this tragedy was made worse by the impacts of multicultur...

On the brink of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, Yohanan ben Zakkai made an astonishing decision.  When faced with an opportunity to ask for anything from the new Roman emperor, Vespasian, rather than choosing to ask him to spare the Temple, Yochanan asked only for permission to start a school and preserve Jewish teachings in Yavneh, south of modern day Tel Aviv.  Rabbi Marc Katz argues...

 According to reports, Israel is about to sign a ceasefire deal with Hamas that will secure the return of some hostages in return to a partial Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, paving the way to ending the war. Gadi Taub, the co-host of Tablet’s popular Israel Update podcast and one of Israel’s most influential journalists, opposes the deal. He joins Liel to shed light on the Israeli government’s chal...

We are re-releasing this episode with an update from Courtney on the situation in Los Angeles. History-making wild fires have been raging nearly out of control across the Los Angeles area, destroying homes, businesses, schools, and even synagogues. How is the community responding, and what can the greater jewish community do? Rabbi Beau Shapiro joins us to give a clergy’s eye view on how our faith...

For the past two years, a group of esteemed Christian and Jewish thinkers and theologians met regularly to discuss the one thing they felt was most sorely missing from the cultural and political landscape: Forgiveness. Rather than rage or despair, they argued, society ought to turn to the possibility that even the bitterest of foes can reconcile and even the most brutal of transgressions be atoned...

History-making wild fires have been raging nearly out of control across the Los Angeles area, destroying homes, businesses, schools, and even synagogues. How is the community responding, and what can the greater jewish community do? Rabbi Beau Shapiro joins us to give a clergy’s eye view on how our faith helps us cope with loss and events beyond our control. Support Links: Nechama Disaster Relief...

    In 2012, tens of thousands of Orthodox Jews packed Citi Field to protest the Internet and demand that believers tune out of the new nascent new medium. Rabbi Gil Student, an influential writer and thinker, opposed the move, arguing that even the most stringently observant Jews could learn to live out their values while still making good use of the new technology. His latest book, Articles of F...

Movies about remembrance are incredibly complicated and difficult to pull off. In his latest film, A Real Pain, actor, writer, and director Jesse Eisenberg tackles grief, family, and memory with echoes of the Holocaust as a haunting background. The film, which was inspired by a piece Jesse wrote for Tablet in 2017, was nominated for four Golden Globe awards. Hosted by Courtney Hazlett, Rabbi Diana...

This show takes no weeks off for holidays, whether they are on the Jewish or Gregorian calendars. What are the differences and similarities between Rosh Hashanah and the “secular” new year’s and more importantly how are we marking them? Tablet’s executive editor Wayne Hoffman joins us to discuss the true meaning of starting a new year. Hosted by Courtney Hazlett, Rabbi Diana Fersko, and Josh Kross...

Today on Jewish Studies Unscrolled, we explore the history and evolution of “Rozhinkes mit Mandlen” (Raisins and Almonds), the iconic Yiddish lullaby written by Avrom Goldfaden for his 1880 operetta Shulamis. Our guest, Pulitzer Prize finalist Alex Weiser, Director of Public Programs at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, joins us to discuss the song’s transformation from its original folk ori...

Today on Jewish Studies Unscrolled, we delve into a rare cultural intersection: Jewish life and the genre of horror. While Jewish contributions to American culture often focus on comedy, literature, or music, horror remains largely unexplored, even by prominent Jewish filmmakers. We’re joined by Jeremy Dauber, Columbia University professor and author of American Scary: A History of Horror from Sal...

Today on Jewish Studies Unscrolled, we dive into the fascinating world of kvitlekh—19th-century petitions addressed to Rabbi Elijah Guttmacher, a misnagdic rabbi whose miracle-working reputation drew thousands of supplicants. Discovered in a Polish attic in 1932 and preserved by the YIVO Institute, these handwritten pleas offer vivid, if fragmentary, snapshots of Jewish life in Eastern Europe, rev...

Today on Jewish Studies Unscrolled, we talk about Bruce Springsteen and his iconic song “Thunder Road.” While Springsteen himself isn’t Jewish, this song, and his songwriting in general, invites reflections on themes central to Jewish life: tradition, leaving home, and coming back again. We’re joined by noted Bruce fans, Park Avenue Synagogue rabbis Elliot Cosgrove and Neil Zuckerman. Drawing on t...

Today on Jewish Studies Unscrolled, we explore Nathan Hanover’s 17th-century work, The Abyss of Despair, or, in the original Hebrew, Yeven Metsulah. The text documents the Chmelnitski Revolt of 1648, a catastrophic uprising that devastated Jewish communities in Eastern Europe. We’re joined by Adam Teller, historian and author of Rescue the Surviving Souls: The Jewish Refugee Crisis of the Seventee...

Hosted by Courtney Hazlett, Rabbi Diana Fersko, and Josh Kross, each episode takes a look at a current, cultural topic and what it means for us as Jews, and how we react to it because we are Jews. This year, the first night of Hannukah falls on Christmas, so we are talking about how each of us, and Jews in general, relate to the most famous Christian holiday, and how some customs might find their...